Well, it’s Christmas Eve 2017. It’s not been our most adventurous year, there’s really been very little to post about since our fabulous Norway trip. However, as I sit here reminiscing, I thought it might be time I started sharing some stories of previous trips.
Found us then?
We were on our way home from a trip to visit friends in about September 2013. After surfing the web en-route I’d found a small campsite online that offered everything we needed, a flat surface and a toilet block basically. The website directions weren’t terribly clear, but we eventually found the gate that opened into the site from a quiet B road at about 7:30 pm. Shaun waited in the van as I walked up to the door of the bungalow marked ‘reception’. A nice seeming chap of about 30 opened the door and introduced himself as Simon. Sadly, his very next words were “you found us then?” I ask you, is there a more ridiculous sentence in the English language than that? Anyway, I bit back my sarcastic reply and followed him into the kitchen/reception. We did the usual booking in procedure, and I asked him about the blackboard outside offering a selection of meals to buy. This was a real bonus as the van had little food on board and we thought we’d need to pop out for a takeaway. He told me to get parked up and come back and order our meal. So we got the van parked and Shaun and I decided we’d both have curry and chips.
I went back to the kitchen to order and was slightly taken aback to see that Simon was now wearing a dressing gown. Ok, I thought, I’ve seen more unusual sights on campsites, and the evening was drawing in, people like to be comfy. I was introduced to Simon’s partner, Graham who was also the chef, and I paid for our meals. It was arranged that he would heat the curry and fry the chips if I returned in 10 minutes with our own plates. What a sensible idea. Back to the van for a quick beer then over to the kitchen once more. This time Graham ushered me in, took my plates and proceeded to dish up. As we chatted, my eye was taken by a movement in the corner of the room. There was a glass door next to the sink and the movement was clearly coming from behind there. Was this a door into their garden perhaps? Nope it was a shower. Yes really, there was a shower in the kitchen. With a man in it. Yes, I can be VERY sure it was a man. Almost certainly Simon, having a good old rub a dub dub. A bit perplexed, what was I to do?
Being so awfully British, I elected to pretend nothing was out of the ordinary, whilst I talked very loudly, keeping my eyes very firmly fixed on Graham. Then, as soon as I had my dinner in hand, I bolted to the van taking our curry with me….
Well, I say curry, it turned out to be some kind of chicken stew reheated with a bit of curry powder. But I was hardly going to take it back and complain, was I? Ah well, you meet some funny folk when travelling and that reminds me of another trip……
The Little Red Bus 